Had some solid time now on the bronq,
So for those that's interested here's my thoughts
I'm a big fan of the shinn boards , especially my beloved monk, but I'm always keen for a run on other brands and boards that I think work for our conditions and my ride, I've been keen to own a bronq , thanks to action sports for the ride
Out of the bag it's apparent you've got a 1st class product, the finish is stunning, with a great view of the carbon fire beneath,
The fittings have no slack it's all very precise
The pads n straps have a great feel very grippy and locked in, plenty of personal adjustments on stance and width, a great rib on the pads run under your toes for xtra purchase
The bite fins seem a bit larger than your standard, but in powered conditions they really get some seriouse traction , the rocker I'd say dictates some of this increase in size
There's a fair bit of rocker in this board, which led me to think it would be very power hungry, this though is compensated through it's lightweight and very efficient performance
Weight, it's a featherweight, lightest board I've ever ridden, which puts a massive spring in your step and give you so much confidence to attack and slash around ,
Comfort of ride is as good as it gets, on a par with the monk but with a lot more feedback , you really feel what's going on underfoot
Speed on the water is very very quick but with massive amounts of control, it's also very precise to the slightest of redirection from you
Pop off the water was noticibly improved from the monk, the rocker I'd say let's you load up more prior to release and the increased stiffness in the tips , didn't get to ride a low powered kite to fully check this out though
Carving of this board was the biggest grin maker, from power hacks on incoming swell and sets to flatwater powered rail carves, doesn't budge an inch, dropping the backhand and leaning into it, gets you close to horizontal, again the rocker would play a big part in this
On the wave it was a lot more manoeuvrable than any tt I've had or trialed , the xtra grip and speed was highly noticeable , but for me allowing myself to aggressively attack the incoming sets with a big power hack with no sign of chatter was and felt great
Spray, huge amounts but directed in the right direction, it's a very dry ride,
Landings were as you'd imagine from a board with this amount of rocker, very soft, but at high speed your able to bring it under control quickly , due again to the high grip and bite,
So who's it for,
IMHO it's for high powered aggressive riders, with a high powered kite, the harder you go the better it gets
Who's it not for?
Not saying it wouldn't suit your general cruiser, but honestly not worth that bit xtra cost from say the monk ,
What I didn't like
The weight, it's as light as a feather and went for a tumble down the beach ( is that bad?)
The handle, ( the fact that it'll accomadate one mainly)
Scratching the board, it's such a great looking bit of kit , never bothered with a bag but this board deserves one
The fact that I'll never be good enough to take this board to it's limit
Note the rock, it's really that light
Next decent session I'll get some on water images
For the doubters , I paid for this board from action sports , wa shinn dealer, speak to Darren , toddy or staff for a demo, I'd recommend the 135/41 for riders below 95 kg in good conditions
Thanks for reading, enjoy the ride
Nothing shidtz me more than spray in the face from a board, I rode this board back to back with a mates north select / latest edition, he loved the bronq and was mad keen to slap his boots on it, the volume of spray from his board for me was seriously annoying, hand on heart it was a big step down in performance i felt
Dry ride for me
I agree with most of the above: best all-round board in powered conditions for sure! Don't try and ride it unless you're nicely powered though, I do find it powerhungry in sub-par conditions (135x41 @ 75kgs). But when lit up this board is a dream!
@NickT: power hungry in the sense that if it's light I struggle to stay upwind in comparison to my other TT (Liquid Force Focus 2014 in the same size - planes earlier and shoots upwind even when almost no pull from the kite). So not windy enough for the Bronq doesn't necessarily mean not windy enough for any TT in that size. On the other spectrum, Bronq is easier to hold down when I'm overpowered, so pro's and cons!
@NickT: power hungry in the sense that if it's light I struggle to stay upwind in comparison to my other TT (Liquid Force Focus 2014 in the same size - planes earlier and shoots upwind even when almost no pull from the kite). So not windy enough for the Bronq doesn't necessarily mean not windy enough for any TT in that size. On the other spectrum, Bronq is easier to hold down when I'm overpowered, so pro's and cons!
We actually did a bit of a test on a best roca 12 on a larger crazyfly board, honestly they two boards were almost identical in underpowered conditions, this was on undisturbed flat water though, possibly shore / beach conditions may differ